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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 91 records · Page 5

Facility Energy Saving and Securing Technology Using Multi-Source Data (FEST) (Final Report)

Facility Energy Saving and Securing Technology (FEST) project focuses on developing algorithmic tools and techniques for analyzing cyber-physical security of DoD’s military site facilities, and optimal scheduling, operation and planning of their Distributed Energy Resources (DER). The project is led by LLNL with the team including University of Michigan-Dearborn and XENDEE. The military site partner providing the energy metering data is White Sands Missile Range (WSMR). This report summarizes the work performed during the project and future directions for follow-on research.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Supplement to M&V Guidelines: Measurement and Verification for Performance-Based Contracts Version 4.0

Measurement and verification (M&V) are key to determining and confirming the continued operation of, and savings associated with, performance-based contracts. The Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) updates these guidelines to reflect the evolution of M&V to incorporate industry best practices and ensure that savings from these performance-based projects are properly planned, communicated, and realized. FEMP released M&V Guidelines: Measurement and Verification for Federal Energy Projects Version 3.0 in 2008. This document was developed with input from industry-government working groups, previous M&V guideline authors, and national laboratory subject matter experts. The document provided the methods and guidelines, with a focus on federal energy savings performance contracts (ESPCs). When FEMP released M&V Guidelines: Measurement and Verification for Performance-Based Contracts Version 4.0 in 2015, FEMP expanded the intended audience to include anyone (energy managers, procurement officers, and contractors) involved in implementing performance-based contracts. The streamlined M&V Guidelines Version 4.0 provided the procedures and guidelines needed to quantify savings resulting from installing energy-efficient equipment, water conservation, improved operation and maintenance (O&M), renewable energy, and cogeneration projects with a performance-based contract; however, it removed some of the associated details on topics such as developing regression models and sampling plans. The details and information provided in M&V Guidelines v. 3.0 are still pertinent to M&V for performance-based contracts. The objective is to keep FEMP M&V version 4.0 condensed, providing the reference document for specifying M&V methods and procedures and a resource for developing project-specific M&V plans; this supplement provides additional details. The content of this supplement has been updated to include pertinent revisions between M&V version 3.0 and M&V version 4.0 by providing details and updating the content to ensure relevancy.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

Energy consumption program: A computer model simulating energy loads in buildings

The JPL energy consumption computer program developed as a useful tool in the on-going building modification studies in the DSN energy conservation project is described. The program simulates building heating and cooling loads and computes thermal and electric energy consumption and cost. The accuracy of computations are not sacrificed, however, since the results lie within + or - 10 percent margin compared to those read from energy meters. The program is carefully structured to reduce both user's time and running cost by asking minimum information from the user and reducing many internal time-consuming computational loops. Many unique features were added to handle two-level electronics control rooms not found in any other program.

Stoller, F. W.↗

The updated algorithm of the Energy Consumption Program (ECP): A computer model simulating heating and cooling energy loads in buildings

The energy Comsumption Computer Program was developed to simulate building heating and cooling loads and compute thermal and electric energy consumption and cost. This article reports on the new additional algorithms and modifications made in an effort to widen the areas of application. The program structure was rewritten accordingly to refine and advance the building model and to further reduce the processing time and cost. The program is noted for its very low cost and ease of use compared to other available codes. The accuracy of computations is not sacrificed however, since the results are expected to lie within + or - 10% of actual energy meter readings.

Lansing, F. L.↗

NUCLEON Satellite Mission. Status and Plans

The main objective of the NUCLEON satellite mission is direct measurements of the elemental energy spectra of high-energy (10(exp 11) - 10(exp 15) eV) cosmic rays with Kinematic Lightweight Energy Meter (KLEM) device. The design of the instrument has been corrected to increase geometry factor and improve charge resolution. The special mechanical and electronic systems have been developed for installation of the experimental apparatus in a regular Russian satellite. It is planned to launch the NUCLEON instrument in 2006.

Bashindzhagyan, G.↗

Smart Grid Development Issues for Terrestrial and Space Applications

The development of the so called Smart Grid has as many definitions as individuals working in the area. Based on the technology or technologies that are of interest, be it high speed communication, renewable generation, smart meters, energy storage, advanced sensors, etc. they can become the individual defining characteristic of the Smart Grid. In reality the smart grid encompasses all of these items and quite at bit more. This discussion attempts to look at what the needs are for the grid of the future, such as the issues of increased power flow capability, use of renewable energy, increased security and efficiency and common power and data standards. It also shows how many of these issues are common with the needs of NASA for future exploration programs. A common theme to address both terrestrial and space exploration issues is to develop micro-grids that advertise the ability to enable the load leveling of large power generation facilities. However, for microgrids to realize their promise there needs to a holistic systems approach to their development and integration. The overall system integration issues are presented along with potential solution methodologies.

Soeder, James F.↗

Smart Grid Development Issues for Terrestrial and Space Applications

The development of the so called Smart Grid has as many definitions as individuals working in the area. Based on the technology or technologies that are of interest, be it high speed communication, renewable generation, smart meters, energy storage, advanced sensors, etc. they can become the individual defining characteristic of the Smart Grid. In reality the smart grid encompasses all of these items and quite at bit more. This discussion attempts to look at what the needs are for the grid of the future, such as the issues of increased power flow capability, use of renewable energy, increased security and efficiency and common power and data standards. It also shows how many of these issues are common with the needs of NASA for future exploration programs. A common theme to address both terrestrial and space exploration issues is to develop micro-grids that advertise the ability to enable the load leveling of large power generation facilities. However, for microgrids to realize their promise there needs to a holistic systems approach to their development and integration. The overall system integration issues are presented along with potential solution methodologies.

Power Systems↗

Below Ambient and Cryogenic Thermal Testing

Methods and apparatus for the testing of below-ambient temperature thermal insulation systems have been developed based on boiloff calorimetry. Boiloff calorimetry provides a direct measure of heat flow for below-ambient temperature conditions. The effective thermal conductivity (ke) and heat flux (q) of a test specimen are calculated for a fixed environmental condition (warm boundary temperature; cold boundary temperature; ambient or vacuum pressure). Through its heat of vaporization, liquid nitrogen (LN2) serves as the energy meter. Different apparatus have been built for flat-plate, cylindrical, and pipeline test specimens. Boundary temperatures can range from 353 K down to 77 K (80 C to -196 C). By interposing different insulation layers on the cold boundary, the cryogenic boiloff method is suitable for a wide range of below-ambient temperature applications. A cylindrical apparatus, Cryostat-100, as well as the pipeline test apparatus, Cryostat-P100, are thermally guarded and directly measure absolute thermal performance in watts. Pipe insulation systems can be mechanical, double-walled, or vacuum-jacketed including materials such as foams, cellular glass, aerogel blankets, clam-shell panels, and multilayer insulation. Two test pipelines, 12-meter-long, are mounted between two cold box assemblies. The test pipeline diameter is from 25-mm to 76-mm while the maximum outside diameter including insulation is up to 204-mm. The cold pipe tester design and test methods are discussed, as well as results for select thermal insulation materials. Progress toward a comparative type, bench-top cold pipe tester (Cryostat-P200) is also discussed.

Fesmire, James E.↗

Power System Human Machine Interfaces for the X-57 Mod II Aircraft

The transition from a Tecnam (Costruzioni Aeronautiche Tecnam srl) (Sapua, Italy) P2006T twin-engine aircraft into the fully electric X-57 Modification II (Mod II) configuration required the development of cockpit displays and controls to allow the pilot to properly monitor and interface with the research electric system. This paper describes the machine interfaces developed to interface with the X-57 Mod II traction battery system and the unique considerations of developing interfaces and monitoring tools for electric aircraft. The key design philosophy during the X-57 cockpit development was to retain or make minor modifications to the stock P2006T aircraft wherever possible and to use highly reliable commercial displays for monitoring of safety critical parameters. From these efforts, development of accurate estimates of battery state of charge and energy meters designed specifically for flight applications for future electric aircraft development is recommended.

James Reynolds↗

DER Planning with Resilience Analysis Using REopt Lite: A Behind-the-Meter Techno-Economic Analysis Tool

REopt Lite is a techno-economic decision support model for behind-the-meter energy systems design and dispatch modeling. REopt Lite is used to optimize energy systems for buildings, campuses, communities, and microgrids. It is based on a Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) optimization model. It is a fully automated and streamlined energy modeling tool that can be used off-the-shelf for a wide variety of distributed generation integration analyses and at the same time is architected to be extensible for user-specific customizations for advanced users and subject matter experts. It is publicly available as a webtool as well as has an Application Programming Interface (API). The API functionality enables programmatic access to the model facilitating smooth integration with other distribution systems modeling tools, and automated multiple scenarios/sensitivity studies.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Grid-Enhanced, Mobility-Integrated Network Infrastructures for Extreme Fast Charging (GEMINI-XFC)

GEMINI-XFC will use first-of-a-kind integrated high-fidelity grid and transport modeling to identify effective pathways for widespread electrification, to design and evaluate integrated vehicle-grid control schemes, and to optimize electric vehicle integration at a full regional scale with individual customer resolution. Control variables will include: Charging station design and planning (where and what kind of charging stations); EV route scheduling considering grid "status"; and Dispatch of behind-the-meter energy storage and legacy voltage control actuators (on-load tap changes, voltage regulators, capacitors).

DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION,POWER TRANSMISSION AND DI↗

Installation of the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument at the Mayall 4-meter telescope

The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) is a Stage IV ground-based dark energy experiment that will measure the expansion history of the Universe using the Baryon Acoustic Oscillation technique. The spectra of 35 million galaxies and quasars over 14000 square degrees will be measured during the life of the experiment. We describe the installation of the major elements of the instrument at the Mayall 4m telescope, completed in late 2019. The previous prime focus corrector, spider vanes, and upper rings were removed from the Mayall’s Serrurier truss and replaced with the newlyconstructed DESI ring, vanes, cage, hexapod, and optical corrector. The new corrector was optically aligned with the primary mirror using a laser tracker system. The DESI focal plane system was integrated to the corrector, with each of its ten 500-fiber-positioner petal segments installed using custom installation hardware and the laser tracker. Ten DESI spectrographs with 30 cryostats were installed in a newly assembled clean room in the Large Coude Room. The ten cables carrying 5000 optical fibers from the positioners in the focal plane were routed down the telescope through cable wraps at the declination and hour angle axes, and their integral slitheads were integrated with the ten spectrographs. The fiber view camera assembly was installed to the Mayall’s primary mirror cell. Servers for the instrument control system replaced existing computer equipment. The fully integrated instrument has been commissioned and is ready to start its operations phase.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

The Impact of Behind-the-Meter Heterogeneous Distributed Energy Resources on Distribution Grids: Preprint

The increasing integration of distributed energy resources (DERs) on the electric grid brings new challenges and opportunities for utility grid operations. With the rapid deployment of DERs, there is emerging interest in integrating these controllable devices with utility operations at all levels for monitoring and management. Different types of DERs such as Photovoltaics (PV), energy storage, electric vehicles (EVs), etc. have varying effects on the grid based on how and where they are deployed. Again, the DER deployment and its impact are network-dependent, while the traditional electric grids were not designed to host DERs. To understand the challenges with increasing behind-the-meter (BTM) DERs and to identify the needs in deploying advanced controls, a comprehensive grid impact study is indispensable. This paper investigates the impacts of integrating a mix of DERs in the utility distribution network in Colorado, U.S. Firstly, BTM DERs at the residential scale including distributed PV; battery energy storage systems (BESS); heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) load; electric water heater (EWH) load; and EVs are modeled. The impacts of integrating these resources on the distribution network are evaluated by conducting time-series simulations for different scenarios considering different days to capture the worst-case conditions. Monte Carlo simulations are conducted to generate the realistic EV charging profile. The voltage issues, substation transformer loadings, and critical nodes in the network are identified with the incorporation of uncoordinated EV charging loads and other DER in the network. This analysis helps visualize the DER impact on the grid, identify the challenges, and provides an insight into the new distribution management and control needs to enable reliable and resilient distribution grid operations. Additionally, further analysis is performed to estimate the daily residential electricity cost with the inclusion of DERs under time-of-use tariffs. The result shows the daily residential electricity cost reduced by 20:7% on average with DERs compared to the case without DERs.

27 ARPA - Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy↗

The Impact of Behind-the-Meter Heterogeneous Distributed Energy Resources on Distribution Grids

The increasing integration of distributed energy resources (DERs) on the electric grid brings new challenges and opportunities for utility grid operations. With the rapid deployment of DERs, there is emerging interest in integrating these controllable devices with utility operations at all levels for monitoring and management. To understand the challenges with increasing behind-the-meter (BTM) DERs and to identify the needs in deploying advanced controls, a comprehensive grid impact study is indispensable. This paper presents the analysis which help visualize the DER impact on the grid, identify the challenges and provides an insight into the new distribution management and control needs to enable reliable and resilient grid operations.

27 ARPA - Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy↗

Calibration of urban building energy model using smart meter data for district peak load prediction

Urban building energy modeling (UBEM) is a powerful approach to assessing baseline building energy performance and retrofits with new technologies across building stocks in cities. However, the accuracy of UBEM is often constrained by the limited availability of reliable data about building characteristics and operations, such as envelope efficiency levels, HVAC system performance, and end-use load patterns. Existing research has performed UBEM calibration using annual or monthly energy consumption data, which falls short when higher-resolution time series applications are needed, such as peak load prediction for utility operation planning. This study presents a new framework for calibrating building energy models at urban scale using smart meter data, targeting the accurate prediction of summer peak electricity loads to support robust grid planning. The framework first integrates various data sources to enhance baseline input assumptions for building models, and then calibrates the baseline models through a pattern-matching approach. A case study using CityBES and two years of AMI data from over 9000 residential customers in Portland, Oregon, demonstrated the workflow and its effectiveness. The calibrated models achieved a daily peak load mean absolute percentage error of 2.6 % during the heatwave in the calibration year, and 2.0 % in the validation year using another year of AMI data. Using the calibrated models, we analyzed the demand flexibility potential of the district building stock as an application of UBEM calibration. The findings affirm the appropriate use of UBEM for peak electric load forecasting and demand side management at the utility distribution system level.

AMI data↗

An analytical method for identifying synergies between behind-the-meter battery and thermal energy storage

Electric utilities build generation capacity to meet the highest demand period, and they often pass on the costs associated with these peaking generators to building owners through demand charges. Building owners can minimize these demand charges by shifting energy use away from peak periods with behind-the-meter storage. This storage can include batteries, which can directly shift the metered load, or thermal energy storage, which can shift thermal-driven electric loads like air conditioning. However, there is a lack of research on how best to combine battery and thermal energy storage. In this study, we develop an analytical sizing method to calculate the potential demand reduction and annualized cost savings for different combinations of thermal and battery energy storage sizes. We show that adding batteries to a thermal energy storage system can increase the total system's load shaving potential. This is particularly true when the building has onsite photovoltaic generation or electric vehicle charging, which add significant variability to the load shape. We also show that for a given total storage size, selecting a higher fraction of thermal energy storage can significantly lower the cycling of the battery, and therefore extend the battery life. This, combined with the expected lower first cost of thermal energy storage materials compared to batteries, shows that hybrid energy storage systems can outperform a standalone battery or standalone thermal storage system. Assuming the thermal storage has a capital cost 6x lower than the battery, our analysis shows that the optimal system is 71% thermal energy storage and 29% battery energy storage for a scenario with electric vehicle charging. The annualized cost savings for this system are $48.6 k/yr, whereas an equivalently sized standalone thermal energy storage system would provide annualized cost savings of $28.5 k/yr and a standalone battery would lead to savings of $8.72 k/yr. The hybrid system also reduces battery cycling by 52% compared to a standalone battery, extending battery lifetime.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

Controlling distributed energy resources via deep reinforcement learning for load flexibility and energy efficiency

Behind-the-meter distributed energy resources (DERs), including building solar photovoltaic (PV) technology and electric battery storage, are increasingly being considered as solutions to support carbon reduction goals and increase grid reliability and resiliency. However, dynamic control of these resources in concert with traditional building loads, to effect efficiency and demand flexibility, is not yet commonplace in commercial control products. Traditional rule-based control algorithms do not offer integrated closed-loop control to optimize across systems, and most often, PV and battery systems are operated for energy arbitrage and demand charge management, and not for the provision of grid services. More advanced control approaches, such as MPC control have not been widely adopted in industry because they require significant expertise to develop and deploy. Recent advances in deep reinforcement learning (DRL) offer a promising option to optimize the operation of DER systems and building loads with reduced setup effort. However, there are limited studies that evaluate the efficacy of these methods to control multiple building subsystems simultaneously. Additionally, most of the research has been conducted in simulated environments as opposed to real buildings. This paper proposes a DRL approach that uses a deep deterministic policy gradient algorithm for integrated control of HVAC and electric battery storage systems in the presence of on-site PV generation. The DRL algorithm, trained on synthetic data, was deployed in a physical test building and evaluated against a baseline that uses the current best-in-class rule-based control strategies. Performance in delivering energy efficiency, load shift, and load shed was tested using price-based signals. The results showed that the DRL-based controller can produce cost savings of up to 39.6% as compared to the baseline controller, while maintaining similar thermal comfort in the building. The project team has also integrated the simulation components developed during this work as an OpenAIGym environment and made it publicly available so that prospective DRL researchers can leverage this environment to evaluate alternate DRL algorithms.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗